Configuring file shares using the wizard

Last published : Aug 05, 2026
The File Share Configuration Wizard enables you to create and modify file share service groups, making file shares highly available in a VCS cluster.
Configuring the File Share service group involves creating a FileShare service group and defining the attribute values for its resources. After the service group is created, you must configure the shares to mount automatically at startup.
If you are using a non-shared storage configuration (dynamic disk groups configured on local disks), you have to configure the service group manually either using the Cluster Manager (Java Console) or the command line. The wizard currently cannot configure resources (VMNSDg agent) required for monitoring non-shared storage.
To configure file shares using the File Share Configuration Wizard
  1. Start the File Share Configuration Wizard.
or
Launch the Solutions Configuration Center, open the** Solutions tab, expand High Availability Configuration Wizards**, and click the** Launch button for the File Share Configuration Wizard**.
  1. Review the information on the Welcome panel and click Next.
  2. On the Wizard Options panel, click Create service group and then clickNext.
  3. On the Service Group Configuration panel, specify the following service group details:
    Service Group Name Type a name for the file share service group.
    Group System List Specify the systems on which to configure the service group.
    To add systems to the service group's system list, select the systems in the Available Cluster Systems list and click the right arrow.
    To remove systems from the service group's system list, select the systems in the Systems in Priority Order list and click the left arrow.
    To change a system's priority in the service group's system list, select the system from the Systems in Priority Order and click the up and down arrow.
    System priority defines the order in which service groups are failed over to systems. The system at the top of the list has the highest priority, while the system at the bottom of the list has the lowest priority.
    Include selected systems in the service group's AutoStartList attribute To enable the service group to automatically come online on one of the systems, select this checkbox.
Click Next.
  1. On the FileShare Configuration panel, specify the following configuration information for the file share resources to be created.
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    Virtual Computer Name Type a unique virtual computer name to be assigned to the file share server. This is the name that the clients use to access the file shares.The virtual name must not exceed 15 characters.
    Path Click the field and either type the path of the directory to be shared or click the ellipsis button (...) to browse for a directory. The selected directories must meet the following conditions\:
    - The selected drive, the mount path, and the file path must not exist in the VCS configuration.
    - The directories to be shared must reside on shared, non-system drives.
    The wizard validates the selected directory and displays an error message if the directory does not meet any of the conditions.
    Share Name If a selected directory is already shared, the Share Name column lists the names by which it is shared. You can select a listed share name to make an existing share highly available. You can also create a new share for the same directory by typing a new share name.
    Remove To remove a file share from the configuration, click to select the file share, and then click Remove .
    Configure NetApp SnapMirror Resource(s) This is applicable in case of VCS for Windows only.
    Check the Configure NetApp SnapMirror Resource(s) check box if you wish to set up a disaster recovery configuration.
    The SnapMirror resource is used to monitor replication between filers at the primary and the secondary site, in a disaster recovery configuration.
    Note that you must configure the SnapMirror resource only after you have configured the cluster at the secondary site.
Click Next.
  1. On the Share Permissions panel, specify the users for the file shares and assign permissions to them as follows:
    Select the FileShare From the drop-down list, select the file share with which to associate user permissions, or select the default All FileShares to set the same permissions for all file shares.
    Select the Permission From the drop-down list, select the permission to be associated with the user.
    Select the User Click the ellipsis button ( ... ), select a user, and click OK .
    Add Click to add the specified user to the Selected Users list. By default, all selected users are given the READ_ACCESS permission.
    Selected Users Displays a list of selected users and the file share permissions. You can configure a maximum of 50 users for each file share. To configure more users, create a user group.
    To change the file share permission associated with a user, click a user name in the Selected Users list and then select the desired permission from the Select the Permission drop-down list.
    Remove To deny file share access to a user, click the user name in the Selected Users list and click Remove .
Click Next.
  1. On the Share Properties panel, set the share properties for the file shares as follows:
    Select the FileShare From the drop-down list, select a file share whose properties you wish to set.
    Enable access-based enumeration for this file share Check the Enable access-based enumeration check box to enable the Windows access-based enumeration feature on the selected file share.
    User Limit Specify the number of users that are allowed access to the selected file share.
    Choose from the following options:
    - Maximum allowed users : Select this option to allow access to the maximum numbers of users allowed on Windows.
    - Allow this number of users : Select this option and then type the number of users that you wish to grant access to the selected file share. If you type zero or a value greater than what Windows supports, access is granted to the maximum users allowed on Windows.
    Enable cache Check the Enable cache check box to enable local caching of the contents of the selected file share.
    Then, specify how the contents of the file share are available to users for offline access.
    In the drop-down list select from the following caching options:
    - Manual caching of files and programs : Only the files and programs specified by the user are available offline. This sets the FileShare resource attribute ClientCacheType to MANUAL.
    - Automatic caching of programs : All the files and programs that the users access from the file share are available offline. This sets the FileShare resource attribute ClientCacheType to DOCS.
    - Optimized automatic caching of files and programs : All the files and programs, including executables, are cached locally. The next time the user accesses the executable files, they are launched from the local cache. This sets the FileShare resource attribute ClientCacheType to PROGRAMS.
    Hide share Check the Hide Share check box to make the new share a hidden share.
    Share all subfolder Check the Share all subfolders check box to share the subdirectories.
    Hide child shares Check the Hide child shares check box to hide the shared subdirectories.
    Apply these settings to To apply the specified share properties to multiple file shares simultaneously, do the following\:
    1. Click the ellipsis button ( ... ).
    2. On the Copy Share Properties dialog box, select the file shares from the Available Shares list and click the right arrow to move them to the Selected Shares list. Note that only those files shares that are not already shared are available for selection.
    3. Click OK .
    Note: This option is not visible if you are configuring only one share in the service group.
Click Next.
  1. This is applicable in case of VCS for Windows only.
On the Initiator Selection panel, select the initiator for the virtual disk from the list of available initiators displayed for each cluster node, and then click Next.
If you are configuring multipath I/O (MPIO) over Fibre Channel (FC), you must select at least two FC initiators for each cluster node. Note that the node from which you run this wizard already has an initiator selected by default. This is the initiator that was specified when you connected the LUNs to this cluster node.
  1. On the Network Configuration panel, specify information related to your network as follows:
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    • Select IPv4 to configure an IPv4 address for the virtual server.
      • In the Virtual IP Address field, type a unique virtual IPv4 address for the virtual server.
      • In the Subnet Mask field, type the subnet to which the virtual IPv4 address belongs.
    • Select IPv6 to configure an IPv6 address for the virtual server. The IPv6 option is disabled if the network does not support IPv6.
      • Select the prefix from the drop-down list. The wizard uses the prefix and automatically generates an IPv6 address that is valid and unique on the network.
    • For each system in the cluster, select the public network adapter name. This field displays the TCP/IP enabled adapters on a system, including the private network adapters, if applicable. To view the adapters associated with a system, click the Adapter Display Name field and click the arrow. Verify that you select the adapters assigned to the public network, not the private.
    • Click Advanced Settings to specify additional details for the Lanman resource.
On the Lanman Advanced Configuration dialog box, do the following:
  • Check Active Directory Update required check box to enable the Lanman resource to update the Active Directory with the virtual name. This sets the Lanman agent attributes ADUpdateRequired and ADCriticalForOnline to true.
  • In the Organizational Unit field, type the distinguished name of the Organizational Unit for the virtual server in the format CN=containername,DC=domainname,DC=com.
To browse for an Organizational Unit, click the ellipsis button (...) and search using the Windows Find Organization Units dialog box.
By default, the Lanman resource adds the virtual server to the default container "Computers."
  • Click OK.
The user account for VCS Helper service must have adequate privileges on the specified container to create and update computer accounts.
Click Next.
  1. On the Summary panel, review the service group configuration; the following service group details are displayed:
    Resources Displays a list of configured resources. The wizard assigns unique names to resources. Change the names of resource, if required.
    To edit a resource name, select the resource name and either click it or press the F2 key. Edit the resource name and then press the Enter key to confirm the changes. To cancel editing a resource name, press the Esc key.
    Attributes Displays the attributes and their configured values, for a resource selected in the Resources list.
    Enable FastFailOver attribute for all the VMDg resources in the service group This is applicable in case of SFW HA only.
    To enable all the VMDg resources in the service group for fast failover, select this checkbox.
Click Next.
  1. Click Yes on the dialog that appears, informing you that the wizard will run commands to modify the service group configuration.
  2. On the completion panel, check Bring the service group online check box if you want to bring the service group online on the local system, and then clickFinish.